Czech tennis player Tomáš Macháč did not turn his first ATP final appearance into a title in Geneva. In the final, he lost 5:7 and 3:6 to the second seed and two-time champion Casper Ruud from Norway.
The 23-year-old Macháč has had a successful tournament. He already improved his career high by advancing to the semi-finals, in which he also knocked out the world number one from Serbia, Novak Djokovic. He also sets a record in the new edition of the world ranking, in which he moves from 44th to 34th place.
Macháč could have thought of more, but he did not take advantage of a good start to the match. Due to the rain, Ruud had to play the semi-final with Flavio Cobolli until this morning. The Italian defeated the seventh player in the world 1:6, 6:1 and 7:6, and after a roughly three-hour break, he got off to a slower start.
The Czech representative thus took the lead 5:3 in the first set, but did not maintain the lead. At 5:4, he worked out a set point, but made a double fault. “He definitely deserved to win the first set, but that’s tennis. It’s not always fair,” said Ruud.
In the second set, Macháč quickly lost 0:3, and the twenty-five-year-old Norwegian already maintained the lead. In Geneva, he followed up on the triumphs from 2021 and 2022. “I’m happy. I’ve played a lot of difficult matches here, and until today, when the weather was great, even in challenging conditions,” added Ruud.
Perricard managed the premiere
Unlike Macháč, the French tennis player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard won the title in his first ATP final appearance. In today’s climax of the tournament in Lyon, he beat Argentine Tomás Etcheverry 6:4, 1:6 and 7:6.
Twenty-year-old Mpetshi Perricard arrived in Lyon as the 117th ranked player and became the lowest-ranked finalist in the history of the tournament. Thanks to the premier triumph, he will significantly improve in the ATP ranking and move to the 66th place in his life.
The 24-year-old Etcheverry, on the other hand, extended the unfavorable final series. He has lost all three of his career title fights thus far.
American women’s duel for Keys
Madison Keys won the American match in the final of the tennis tournament in Strasbourg. The 2017 US Open finalist easily defeated Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-2 to claim her first title of the year.
Twenty-nine-year-old Keys saw her tournament triumph after a year and claimed her eighth title overall. On the contrary, the 30-year-old Collins, who plans to end her career after the season, appeared in the finals for the third time this year and lost for the first time. The 2022 Australian Open finalist has four titles to her credit.
Men’s tennis tournament in Geneva (clay, subsidy 651,865 euros):
Singles – final: Ruud (2-Nor.) – Machac (Czech Republic) 7:5, 6:3.
Doubles – final: Pavič, Arévalo (3-Croatia/Salv.) – Rojer, Glasspool (Netherlands/Brit.) 7:6 (7:2), 7:5.
Men’s tennis tournament in Lyon (clay, subsidy 651,865 euros):
Singles – final: Mpetshi Perricard (Fr.) – Etcheverry (6-Arg.) 6:4, 1:6, 7:6 (9:7).
Doubles – final: Heliovaara, Patten (Fin./Brit.) – Bhambri, Olivetti (India/Fr.) 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 10:8.
Women’s tennis tournament in Strasbourg (clay, subsidy 802,237 euros):
Singles – final: Keys (4-USA) – Collins (3-USA) 6:1, 6:2.
Doubles – final: Niculescu, Bucsa (Roman/Sp) – Muhammad, Sutjiadi (USA/Indon) 3:6, 6:4, 10:6.
